The information provided below is not admitted to be prior art to the present invention, but is provided solely to assist the understanding of the reader.
The internal nasal valve is the narrowest point in the nasal airway and is the point that often limits inspiration flow. A large percentage of inspiratory resistance is attributable to internal nasal valve function or malfunction. Collapse of one or both internal nasal valves is a common cause of nasal airway obstruction. Narrowness of the nasal valve may lead to difficulty in respiration and snoring as well as other breathing related disorders such as sleep apnea. Internal nasal valve collapse can be a consequence of previous surgery, trauma, aging, or primary weakness of the upper or lower lateral cartilage and is often symptomatic and debilitating.
A description of the nasal valve and its functions are more fully described in Cole, “The Four Components of the Nasal Valve”, American Journal of Rhinology , Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 107-110 (2003). See also, Cole, “Biophysics of Nasal Air Flow: A Review”, American Journal of Rhinology, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 245-249 (2000).
Surgery to strengthen the nasal valve has been shown to significantly improve quality of life for treated patients. Rhee, et al., “Nasal Valve Surgery Improves Disease—Specific Quality of Life”, Laryngoscope, Vol. 115, pp. 437-440 (2005). The most common procedure for treating nasal valve collapse is the so-called alar batten grafting. In batten grafting, a patient's cartilage is harvested from any one of a number of locations such as the nasal septum or the ear. The cartilage is sculpted to an appropriate size and shaped and beveled on the edges for improved cosmetics. The batten graft is placed in the desired location of the nasal passage through either an external or endonasal approach. A pocket is formed overlying the cartilages of the nose with the pocket sized to receive the batten graft. Placement of the batten graft is shown in FIG. 4 (page 577) of Millman, et al., “Alar Batten Grafting for Management of the Collapsed Nasal Valve”, Laryngoscope, Vol. 112, pp. 574-579 (2002). Other nasal valve surgeries are described in Kalan, et al., “Treatment of External Nasal Valve (Alar Rim) Collapse with an Alar Strut”, Journal of Laryngology and Otology, Vol. 115, pages 788-791 (2001); Karen, et al., “The Use of Percutaneous Sutures for Graft Fixation in Rhinoplasty”, Archives Facial Plastic Surgery, Vol. 5, pp. 193-196 (2003) and Fanous, “Collapsed Nasal-Valve Widening by Composite Grafting to the Nasal Floor”, Journal of Otolaryngology, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 313-316 (1996).
The harvesting of a portion of the patient's natural cartilage is an additional procedure and requires sculpting or other modification of the graft prior to use. Accordingly, surgically implanted synthetic nasal dilators, and non-surgical external dilators and cones have been suggested. An example of a surgically implanted dilator is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,541 to Hurbis dated Aug. 22, 2000. In the '541 patent, the nasal dilator has a V-shape with an apex placed over the bridge of the nose to support the nasal tissue at the area of the internal valve. Other examples include U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,590 to Sillers et al., dated Nov. 27, 2001. However, use of such devices require an open surgical technique for insertion.
External (non-implanted) nasal dilators which are placed temporarily, and are removed by the patient are also available. Such external devices are possibly placed on the outside surface of the nose such as the “Breathe Right strips, U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,440, or U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,495 by Lockwood. Other devices may be placed in the nasal cavity (but not implanted in the nose), such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,523 given to Brown, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,978,781 given to Jordan. However, such devices can be uncomfortable, unsightly, and require the patient to remove and replace the device on a periodic basis.
Therefore, there is an urgent need for identifying methods and systems for repairing nasal valves and related nasal structures, including the repairing of the internal nasal valve collapse, which would eliminate the need for invasive surgical techniques. And thus eliminating risks and costs of general anesthesia and operating room expenses, and shorten recovery periods. It is also desirable to identify methods and systems that are implanted within the nose, eliminating the need for disposable external devices
Unlike previous implant methods known and described, the implant of this invention is inserted by means of an injection technique, and does not require surgical incisions. It is inserted percutaneously or transmucosally, usually under local anesthetic only. The implant may have different shapes and/or physical properties than previous implants described. This allows for it to be inserted by means of a non surgical technique, and the position may be adjusted initially after placement. One aspect of the invention would permit the implant to be adjusted after implantation
Unlike previous nasal strips and dilators, the current invention provides a device and means whereby the device(s) is embedded within the tissue of the nose. It is designed to be permanent or long lasting. It is not visible externally, and does not require the replacement or the adjustment by the patient and/or the physician.